Solely aggregation of news articles, with no opinions expressed by this service since 2009 launch on this platform.
Copyright to all articles remains with the publisher and HEADLINES ARE CLICKABLE to access published articles.
(Subscription by RSS is recommended, even though email, LinkedIn and Google+ updates are available.)

"Heathrow has lost its crown as the busiest airport in the world for international passenger traffic. The oil-rich Gulf city of Dubai has knocked London off the top spot, figures from the Airports Council International show.

A total of 68.9 million passengers had passed through Dubai International compared with 67.8 million at Heathrow as of December 22, despite a late slowdown in traffic with one important destination, trouble-hit Russia.

The rise in passenger numbers at Dubai this year came despite only a single runway being usable for 80 days because of a refurbishment scheme, which caused a temporary decline in flights."

"Portfolio flows into emerging markets (EM) suffered their sharpest slump in December since the 2013 “taper tantrum” as the Russian currency crisis and sliding oil prices intensified risk aversion among both equity and debt investors, according to estimates by the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a global association of financial institutions.

The IIF’s EM Portfolio Flows Tracker, released on Tuesday, estimated total outflows from EM at $11.5bn during the month, with flows out of debt accounting for $7.8bn and flows out of equities reaching $3.7bn. The only EM area to register net inflows was emerging Asia, following foreign buying of Indian bonds and equity issuance throughout the region (see chart).

"The UAE’s stock markets fell on Tuesday as oil prices continued to drop and the federal market regulator halted four prominent investors from trading on the country’s stock exchanges.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index fell 5.4 per cent to 3,752.79, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Market General Index lost 2.18 per cent to 4,444.03. The Dubai Index was the worst performer on Tuesday among more than 90 indexes tracked globally by Bloomberg.

The Dubai measure has lost 13 per cent of its value this month, while the Abu Dhabi market has shed 5 per cent. The panic selling started in mid-November as the rapid decline in oil prices triggered concerns over economic growth in the UAE."

"I see the sales prices on apartments in Dubai are falling now. Are they going to continue to fall? We are thinking of purchasing something as a starter home. I have been looking around several different neighbourhoods including Motor City, JVC, Sports City and even had a look at Remraam. Remraam seems very affordable, though the apartments are quite small. What is your opinion on this community? Are there other places I should also consider looking? AM, Dubai

All the areas you have mentioned are up and coming - especially JVC, Sports City and Remraam. Looking especially at Remraam, the one thing I can say is that at present there is little around in terms of amenities and facilities as this area is still very much developing. Having said that, this is the reason why the prices are cheaper. There is a lot of developing going on near/around the Umm Sequiem Road and ultimately, this in time, will be a thriving location as it is designed to cater for families and young professionals especially with the likes of Akoya, Arabian Ranches 2, Mudon and Sustainable City etc all under construction.

The real question is, if you can afford a bit more, then perhaps choosing more established areas such as Motor City or some parts of JVC and Sports City might be a better option. If you can handle living n or near a building site, then you can reap the future rewards of capital appreciation if you stick with Remraam."

"Ukrainian bonds slid the most in three weeks after approval of the 2015 budget failed to temper concern the financial crisis that’s dragged the country into a recession will worsen.

The price on the government’s dollar-denominated note maturing July 2017 dropped 4.6 cents, the most since since Dec. 10, to 60.03 cents on the dollar by 5:28 p.m. in Kiev. The yield on the notes rose 3.8 percentage points to 33.75 percent, approaching the record 34.17 percent close from Dec. 16. The hryvnia appreciated 0.2 percent to 15.7960 against the dollar, trimming its world-beating loss this year to 48 percent.

While the approval of next year’s budget yesterday marks a step toward unlocking future tranches of the International Monetary Fund-led $17 billion loan, Ukraine’s ability to ward off a default was curtailed as foreign-currency reserves halved in 2014 to $9.97 billion. The country’s economy is forecast to shrink 7.5 percent this year amid the conflict with eastern separatists and Russia’s takeover of Crimea."

"Russian stocks rose in New York, trimming a December retreat that has pushed their valuation to the lowest level since 2008, as the ruble gained.

A Bloomberg index of the most-traded American depositary receipts of Russian companies added 1.2 percent. The gauge, which trades at 4.4 times projected earnings for the next 12 months, has lost 24 percent this month and is on track for the worst annual slide in six years. The Market Vectors Russia ETF (RSX), the biggest exchange-traded fund tracking Russian equities, advanced 6.4 percent. The ruble, headed for its worst year since its 1998 default, strengthened 4.2 percent.

Tuesday’s gains for stocks and the currency follow declines that have been fueled by a bear market in oil, the nation’s biggest export, and sanctions over the Ukraine conflict that have pushed Russia’s economy toward recession. The ruble has lost 41 percent in 2014, the most in the world after the Ukrainian hryvnia, while the Micex Index in Moscow posted the first decline in three years.

"Hedge funds finally pulled back from bets on higher oil prices as the market faces its worst year since 2008.

Speculators reduced their net-long position in West Texas Intermediate crude for the first time in four weeks, cutting their holdings by 5 percent in the week ended Dec. 23, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed yesterday. Long wagers dropped the most since August.

Prices have tumbled to the lowest level in more than five years as U.S. output climbed and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries refused to make production cuts. The International Energy Agency and U.S. Energy Information Administration cut their estimates of 2015 global fuel consumption this month amid expectations for slower economic growth outside the U.S."

"Buyout firm Abraaj Group said it withdrew from bidding for Bisco Misr after U.S. rival Kellogg Co. (K) submitted a higher offer for the Egyptian biscuit maker.

The U.S. food producer offered 89.86 Egyptian pounds a share for Bisco Misr on Dec. 24, the same day that Abraaj had offered 88.09 pounds a share. Kellogg’s offer values Bisco Misr at 1.03 billion pounds ($144 million).

The private equity firm’s decision ends a two-month takeover battle in which the offer price has increased about 22 percent from Abraaj’s initial bid of 73.91 a share in November. Bisco, which earlier turned down offers from Juhayna Food Industries and Saudi Arabia’s Halwani Bros., owns three factories, where it produces biscuit Luxe and a variety of cakes and wafers."